Rockland Teachers Present at National Conference

Of all the presentations Shelby Hastings could have walked into at the National Science Teaching Association’s 2026 Conference in Anaheim, California, she did not expect she’d be walking into a panel presented entirely by four teachers from Rockland County, New York. Funny enough, Hastings, a California based teacher, has a connection to the small New York County – her older sister happens to be the Managing Editor of the Rockland County Times. 

The National Science Teaching Association Conference, or NSTA, draws over 10,000 teachers from around the country and is considered to be the premiere event for science educators in the United States. The four Rockland teachers, Brian Newburger and Samantha Levine of South Orangetown School District, and Nicole Jessie and Nancy Donohue of North Rockland School District, presented on their now twelve year old STEM night and how it has become an invaluable method to engage and connect with the families of our county. 

The night has become an opportunity for students to show off their science skills – Hastings remembers an example of high-schoolers building a go-kart with a lawnmower and a trampoline – while also becoming a night to empower parents  with the tools to perform their own science experiments at home with common household items. 

The presentation left Hastings feeling inspired, sharing that she plans to take what she learned from these Rocklanders and start her own STEM night at her school in Northern California.